"What do you want?" a voice came through the transmitter. A small hologram of a woman cloaked in darkness appeared. "Nicole! Buddy!" Cat replied cheerfully. "It's nice tae see you again. Howizt back at the Castle?" A single red eye glared at Cat. "I did not come to bandy words with you. Have you completed your jobs?" Undaunted by her boss's frosty nature, Cat continued to answer pleasantly. 'Yes, your royal Darkness, I have Teá and her royal-pain-in-the-ass partner."
Annoyed at this kind of treatment, Lesha looked eagerly around the sparse interior, as if expecting the other victim of Cat's cruel captures to be tied up also. Unsuccessful, she turned her head to listen to the conversation.
"....yeah, she's in carbonite." The hologram figure just stared. 'Well, if ya want tae know, she's alive and well...she can be a nice decoration in your dark palace. You'll love the expression, she's screamin' her head off. It'll be perfect for you, boss lady." Nicole's red eye's expression softened a bit at this news. "Good job, bounty hunter..." she said, her words oily smooth. "I shall give you an extra bonus for this...unexpected opportunity. Come now, I will meet you on Alderaan. A peaceful planet. No one will know about this. How close are you?" Cat groaned. "That's on the other side of the galaxy for me! I'm in one of the outer sectors, near Shi. It's going to take me at least three days, provided I can find some shortcuts. I'll beep you when I'm close." A sly, evil grin appeared on Nicole's face. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Cat. I look forward to your catch." The hologram disappeared. Cat smiled and stretched her long limbs out. This was going to be a good day.
A sleek Republican cruiser set itself on a landing bay near the office of Chancellor Palpatine. "Preparing to land!" Yami called out. Videl hurriedly rushed to her seat and tried straightening her slightly messy hair. Looking out the window, she saw a squad of security men coming towards the ship. "Yami, they even have a welcoming party here! They must really want us to join the Republic!" she exclaimed in surprise. Yami nodded his agreement, keeping his eyes glued on the screens. There was a soft bump as he landed, and he opened the ramp. He walked over to Videl to escort her.
Suddenly, the security guards poured inside. "Freeze!" They yelled. Startled, both the ambassador and the Head of Security for Shi put their hands up into the air. Four grabbed Yami and started dragging him down the ramp. "Yami!" Videl cried out. She tried to get closer to him, but another four barred the way.
"WAIT!!!" He called out. "What the hell is going on?!" None of the men broke their stride when they answered. "You are under arrest for kidnapping of the princess of Shi. For that, you shall go to prison until they put you on trial." And with that, they dragged him to the holding cells. Videl looked at Yami tearfully, hardly daring to believe that was true. "That's a lie!" She finally blurted out. The Republican guards did not answer, taking her gently down the ramp. "Take me to the Chancellor. Now." Videl said, choking back her tears. Without a word, they started walking her towards his office in grim silence. When they got into a taxi speeder, Videl stared sadly out the window with one of the guards on her right. Where are you Yami? She wondered. Did you really do that? I don't think it's you, but with all these guards around, it's hard to tell. Oh Yami!
Whether it was by some stroke of miracle or what, Malik wasn't about to argue. Through about two days of desperate tinkering with the controls, Kaiba managed to get them to Courascant in three days, a day and a half shorter than the normal time. Tweaking the engines to maximum power, the Jedi apprentices got to the city-planet on full throttle. Malik froze as a strange feeling crept over him.
"You feel it too?" Kaiba asked. Malik nodded. "Fear...there is an abundance of fear...right over...there!" On the screen, Kaiba pointed at a tall building. "Ah, where Chancellor Palpatine is. I wonder why?" Without waiting for a response, he made a sudden vertical drop about a hundred kilometers after entering the atmosphere. The cool, green lights on the sensors turned to at bloody red. Sirens started beeping. "Dammit!" Malik called out over the noise. "What the hell went wrong back there?" Showing no sign of impatience or fear, Kaiba slowly began working on the console, using the Force to guide him. "Well..." he yelled over the clamor, "Things just can't get any--" He was interrupted as the toxic smell of smoke came drifting through. Coughing and sputtering, Malik sought to control his emotions and find that damn fire extinguisher in the midst of smoke, fire, and chaos. *Cough* *Cough* "Kaiba, if we don't land soon, we're dead!" *Cough* *Cough* Malik shouted. He jumped as the yellow flames started licking his tunic.
Ignoring the scene behind him, Kaiba closed his eyes and let go of the controls. Malik stared at him in amazement and wondered if the smoke went to his brain. Keeping his thoughts concentrated, Kaiba used his will and power to guide the ship. Down, down it went. Dropping about twenty or so kilometers every moment. In his mind's eye, Kaiba saw the city around him. Mentally thinking about where to land, he carefully guided it to his destination. Malik winced as there was a sharp grinding sound, letting both passengers know they landed on something solid. After the ship came to a screeching halt, both apprentices let out a sigh of relief. But not for long. The flames had grown bigger, feeding on fuel and God knows what else. It was only a matter of time before the ship would blow.
With the smoke twice as thick as before, it was impossible to see. Using the Force, Malik somehow found the wall and cut it with his green lightsaber. The hot metal hissed and cracked as an even more concentrated energy source was used upon it. "C'mon Kaiba! I found a way out of here!" he yelled. He jumped out of the hole and greedily breathed in the fresh, polluted air. "All right! We made it!" He cheered. Then he looked around. Kaiba was not with him. Malik stared in horror as the flames grew bigger and bigger. "Hold on Kaiba! I'll save you!" Malik yelled again before charging in.
Kaiba sat in his pilot seat, delirious. Saving the ship had taken a tremendous toll on him. He barely registered Malik's shouting. Too weak to even unbuckle himself, he just lay there and wondered if this was the end. He coughed as smoke irritated his eyes and throat. Tired, he started closing his eyes. So tired...just one more long sleep... Much to his surprise, he saw Mokuba leaning over him. Becoming even more intoxicated by the fumes he kept on seeing his younger brother as a result. "Mokuba..." he croaked. "just leave me...save yourself..." with that, he passed out.
Suddenly, the sensors started wailing. Cat jumped up to survey her sensor problem. Her face hardened as discovered its source. "Dammit!" she yelled. Lesha jumped as her loud voice cut through the silence. Almost instantly, the room became a military campground as Cat started shouting out orders. "OK, I need two of you to the starboard gunners, and two of you for the other side. C'mon, keep moving, keep moving! You there!" Cat shouted at a cyborg behind Lesha. "Come with me. I need a co-pilot. Everyone get ready!" Lesha was startled as there was no other noise from shuffling feet aside from shouting. What kind of creatures were they? Lesha had no experience with any sort of this kind of machinery whatsoever. Cat scrambled over to the cockpit, just in time to receive an unexpected message from an unwanted someone on her screen.
"Well, well, well. If it ain't my favirit buddy! Nice tae mecha again, kitty-cat!" Cat groaned in response. "What the hell do ya want, Wheeler?!" The man's face on the screen frowned for a moment. "Ah, whatsa matter? Cat got your tongue?" he asked, making Cat fume even more. "Dammit, Joey! What the fuck do ya want?! I've got a busy schedule here, ya know!" Joey grinned at her reaction, his brown eyes twinkling. "I know what you got." He whispered. Caught off guard, Cat leaned closer to the screen. Not that Joey minded that much. He had a perfect view of her...and everything else. Annoyed at his staring, Cat bent back. "What Joey?! Stop staring--you're such a perv!" Taken aback, he glared at her. "You have something I want, and I want it now! So hand it over, Cat, afore anything else happens." Another voice abruptly popped out from the background. "Who is that, Cat?! Is it my rescuer?" Joey grinned. "You, betcha, honey! I'm comin' tae rescue ya from this bad lady!" Cat covered her head with her hands. "Heh, heh. Just give me the princess, darlin' and nothing will happen."
Cat stopped for a second, as if pondering what to do. "Make me!" With amazing quickness, she turned off the screen and pushed her engines to full throttle. "Nah-ah!" A voice called out on the speakers. Nobody gets away from me that easily!" Totally ignoring the damn fool, she dodged incoming lasers with a nice corkscrew drive. Sensors beeped wildly, warning her of ion missiles coming her way. She smiled as she heard cursing when they completely missed her ship. The Firebird was no ordinary ship. Custom-made from various ships, it was crammed with all sorts of illegal weaponry and cloaking devices. Built for speed as well as power, it was roughly three sizes bigger than a Jedi starship, for its structure resembled the Jedi starship greatly, even with a worn Republic symbol on it, as well as a phoenix engraved next to it. Dodging blasts with ease, Cat started making her coordinates for hyperspace. A thud from above surprised her. "What the hell was that?!" she yelled, but seeing no damage done, she swerved to the left. Unexpectedly, the speakers turned on. "Kitty-cat, is that all you can do? I expected more out of you! So long, sucker!" Ignoring his boasts, Cat tried a double roll to escape another array of laser blasts. Then, without warning, a hand clamped down on hers. "What the--?" she started to say, but another hand covered her mouth. Astonished, she suddenly flipped backward from her pilot's seat, her feet colliding with her enemy's face. The force from the impact sent her landing on her opponent. Bewildered at the fact that someone managed to get this close to her without her knowledge, she snuck a look at her fallen adversary. Cat gasped as she saw her cyborg underneath her, circuits shorting out, and fluids oozing from the skin. Unsure if it was hers or the cyborg's she grabbed the hilt of her sword-whip.
Walking cautiously in the small corridor, Cat silently made her way to where the princess was kept. If her cyborgs were going to rebel, she might as keep her prize and herself alive. Seeing that Lesha was not hurt, Cat crept closer, keeping a weather eye out for enemies. Lesha looked sadly down the corridor. Her eyes widened as she saw the bounty hunter creeping over towards her. "What is going on?!" she demanded.
Losing her element of surprise, Cat leapt out of the shadows. Two dark forms grabbed her by the arms in mid-air. "Let go of me!" she protested. "No...we don't." a male voice answered.
"Dammit, Joey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cat yelled. One of the cyborgs twisted and wrenched her arm with inhuman strength, causing her to kneel to the ground in pain. "What do ya think I'm doin'? Rescuin' the princess o'course!"
"You're violating the Creed, Joey."
"What Creed, you bitch?!"
"The Bounty Hunters' Creed, you dumbass! No bounty hunter shall interfere with another's hunt!" Joey laughed. "I'm huntin' for the princess, bitch! The Jedi hired me! So she is mine! As for you, I think I have an idea for the likes o'you!" He sent out two men behind him to start removing the chair. Joey walked over and brushed his forefinger against the side of Cat's face. "So, soft..." Wearied of his tactics, Cat jerked her head to the side and bit his finger. There was a loud crunch.
The expression on Joey's face was priceless. His face turned red and his eyes welled up in tears. "OWOWOWOWOW! Dammit! That hurt!" Doing a little dance of pain around the cabin, Joey glared at her. "K-kill her!" He said between clenched teeth. At once, the cyborgs went for her throat. Ducking, Cat managed to tear herself loose, only to collide with another pair. "All right, ya bunch of circuits! You may fight like me, butcha still lack one thing!" she shouted. Oblivious to the conversation, two cyborgs charged at her, only to become a smoldering heap on the floor. The others stared at her in amazement. 'I'm just no bounty hunter, fools!" Another cyborg tried to take her out with a custom-made blaster pistol.
Evading the blasts, Cat drew out her sword. "Foolish human! No sword can block my blows!" One of the cyborgs scorned. "Wanna bet?!" More green shots spewed out of the pistol. Taking a stance, Cat twirled her sword in a clockwise motion. Much to her opponents' surprise, the sword grew longer, taking on a more whip-like shape. Still taking more potshots at Cat, the cyborg fired away. Faster and faster Cat's sword-whip swung, and the laser blasts fell against the whip like water upon stone, causing the blasts to bounce off her, literally. Suddenly, a small squeak of boots sounded behind Cat. She turned around and faced another cyborg. Astonished, she tried to faze her opponent with one of her punches. But as fast as she was, her enemy was faster, giving her a hard roundhouse punch straight in the face, knocking Cat to the floor.
Slowly, Kaiba opened his eyes. He blinked in surprise as a bright light filtered through. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice cracking. "In the medical bay, and it is noon, if you'd like to know." A voice replied. Kaiba straightened up immediately. "Malik?" Malik stood in front of him, grinning. "You should've left me there to die." Kaiba sullenly answered. Malik's eyes widened in shock. "I couldn't have done that! We were partnered up together, and I didn't want to lose you. Besides, how could I tell Mokuba?" Kaiba didn't answer.
"Correct young Malik is. Well he did in his rescue. Risked his life for you, he did. Be grateful, you should." The sound of a very familiar person made both the Padawans turn around. "Master Yoda!" they exclaimed in astonishment. The old, small green master had settled himself in a hoverchair specially designed for him. He clanked his stick against the metal. "Time for arguing is later. Find the princess now. There is a problem at the Galactic Senate. Go there you shall. Discover the problem, solve it, then find the princess. Kaiba is healed, go now, before more problems awake." Hardly daring to object to the old Master's order, Malik hurriedly grabs Kaiba by the arm and drags him out of bed. Both young men scurried out of the medical bay as if they had battle nek dogs on their heels. Alone in the room, Yoda chuckled to himself. "Too hasty they are."
"C'mon Kaiba, hurry up!" Malik shouted behind him. Kaiba lagged behind. "Wait up! Dammit! I just got out of the medical bay, okay?!" He yelled back. Malik stopped and actually waited for him. "If you slow down anymore, I'll carry you there. Got it?" That did it. Thoroughly aggravated at this, Kaiba began running ahead. "C'mon!" he called out. "You're going to make us late!" With that, he sprinted down the corridor.
Thank you for the reviews...this is my first time being (really) serious about stories...any advice is welcome.
*note: sorry if malik sounds like a geek...i tried to portray him as Namu, he's so cute and innocent that way.